The invention concerns an outside mirror for motor vehicles mounted via a pivot bearing assembly.
An adjustable rearview mirror arrangement for motor vehicles has been disclosed by EP 0 609 508 B1. The pivoting mechanism of this rearview mirror arrangement includes a holding plate upon which the mirror carrier plate of the mirror pane is fastened by a force fit. In this way, a simple mounting and demounting is made possible.
An outside mirror for commercial vehicles has come into common knowledge through German Patent DE 93 08 052.2. This known outside mirror is comprised of a housing, a carrier plate, a pivoting mechanism, at least one mirror pane which is mounted upon a mirror carrier plate and two support arms, which connect the mirror carrier with the vehicle. The two support arms are made of one-piece and molded onto the carrier plate. The connection between the support arms and the mirror carrier is a pivot bearing arrangement. The mirror carrier plate exhibits a pivoting axle boring, which is aligned with the upper and lower axle receptors on the vehicle end of the two support arms. By means of a long bolt, which penetrates the lower axle receptor and the pivot axle boring and is screwed into the upper axle receptor, the mirror is held together and fixed at a specified angular setting. The mounting of the corresponding mirror on the mirror holder is not entirely simple, since the two parts must be held in such juxtaposition, that the axle receptors and the pivot bearing are held in alignment until the bolt has been screwed in.
Thus, the purpose of the present invention is to make available an outside mirror for motor vehicles which provides particular ease of mounting. The achievement of this purpose is effected by the features of the present invention.
A simple preassembly of the mirror on the vehicle is made possible by the provision of a spacer piece in the pivot bearing, with a first position in which it is movable in the direction of the pivoting axis into a second position in which it is not so movable. Before mounting, the spacer piece is pushed downward, so that the mirror holder can be positioned between the upper and the lower support arms. When so positioned, the spacer piece is pressed upward, so that it engages in the mirror holder. The spacer piece is fixed in this position by twisting, whereby the mirror is preassembled. The insertion of the long bolt which penetrates the pivot bearing now becomes possible without any further fingertip trial and error. Other advantageous features are also provided by the invention.